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MLB Highlights: Yankees at Nationals
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President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he will not launch the ceremonial first pitch, as scheduled, at an empty Yankee Stadium ahead of the Aug. 15 game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Instead, Trump said he will focus on “scheduled meetings on vaccines, our economy, and more” regarding COVID-19. He added that he intends to launch a first release “later in the season.”
Trump had announced Thursday night his original intentions to launch a first pitch. That news came an hour before the Yankees kicked off the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season against the Washington Nationals. Dr. Anthony Fauci launched the first ceremonial pitch in that game.
Trump has not released a first pitch since he became president. In March 2019, Phil Hecken of Uni-Watch described the story of the first presidential launch, including how the practice originated with William Howard Taft about 110 years ago.
Trump attended a World Series game in Washington, DC last year when the Nationals hosted the Astros, and welcomed the champion Nationals to the White House after they won the title.
MLB originally intended to launch its season on March 26, but the league was forced to alter those plans due to the spread of the new coronavirus. As it stands, MLB intends to play a 60-game season with an extended postseason: if the pandemic allows, this year’s playoffs will feature 16 teams instead of the typical 10.
